Airplane



Patented Mar. 1 5, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAROLD A. HICKS, OF'IDETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO FORD MOTOR COMPANY, OF

' DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE AIRPLANE Apnlicationfiled June a,

cause an increased head resistance for the plane which resistance reduces the speed of the plane. In my improved airplane, the condensers are of such design .and so disposed that very little head resistance is added thereby; in fact, the total head resistance added is more than ofiset by an increase in lift of the wings, which increase is directly the result of the resistance caused by the condensers.

Each of my condenser units consist of a series of condensing tubes extending parallel to the slip stream beneaththe wings of the airplane. I bines are conducted through these tubes where it is condensed andfrom which it is pumped back into the boiler.

The particularly novel feature in connection with this device is the disposition of my condenser units relative to the airplane wings so that an increased lift will be developed by 0 the wings. It is well known that the lift produced by the conventional airplane wing depends upon the pressure differential between the upper and lower surfaces of the wing. The negative pressure or partial vacuum on the upper surface of the wing is due to the increased velocity of the air as it travels over this surface, while, the positive pressure on the under side of the wing is due to the slower velocity of the air adjacent to this surface. My improved condenser is so disposed that the tubes follow the general contour of the under surface of the wing thereby offering only a slight head resistance, while, due to the irregular surface of the tubes the air adjacent to the lowersurface of the wing is materially slowed down thereby creating a h considerable pressure below this surface to increase the lift of the wing. -With this structure the extra lift which is gained more than The exhaust steam from the tur-' 1930. Serial No. 459,084.

produced by the is provided with a plate disposed between the body of the tubes and the condenser headers, which plate when secured over the wing opening forms a section of the wing skin having the effective portions of the condenser tubes extending parallel to the slip stream beneath the plate. It is, therefore, a relatively simple matter to remove the condenser from the wing.

It will be understood that the condenser shown and described herein forms the novel feature of my invention and that reciprocating engines or other forms of steam engines may be used in place of the turbines shown "without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the arrangement, construction, and combination of the various parts of in improved device, as described in my speci cation, claimed in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top view of an airplane having portions broken away to better lllustrate the construction.

Figure 2 shows a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 shows a bottom view of a portion of the wing, shown in Figure 2, illustrating the exposed portions of the condenser tubes.

Referring to the accompanyin drawings,

. I have used the reference numera 10 to ind1- cate generally the fuselage of an airplane each side thereof and control surfaces 12 secured to the rear end of the fuselage 111 the conventional manner. A high wing monoavmg a pair of Wings 11 extending from are disposed in the fuselage or in separate en 'ne nacelles beneath or above the wings.

eferring to Figure 2, I have shown the wing structure as being com osed ofthree main longitudinal spars 13 orming an internally braced thick wing type structure.

Wing ribs 14 are built around these three main spars in the conventional manner to define the contour of the wing.

I have shown a pair of steam turbines 15 mounted in these wings, one on each side of the fuselage 10, which turbines are fastened to the main spars 13 so that a shaft 16 projecting therefrom may extend outwardly through the rear edge of the wing, The shaft 16 may be either driven direct by the turbine 15 or may be operated through a suitable reduction gearing in connection with this turbine. An outboard bearing 17 is provided for the projecting endof the shaft 16 and a propeller 18 is secured to the end of each shaftso as to be driven at a point just to the rear of the wing 11. Thus, operation of the turbines 15 rotates both of the shafts 16 to thereby rotate the propellers 18.

'An oil burning boiler 19 is housed within the wing 11 having a steam line 20 extending therefrom to a suitable valve 21 operable by the pilot of the ship. A steam line 22 extends from the valve 21 to the inlet port of each turbine 15 so that when this valve is open the turbines will be operated. A suitable fuel tank 23 is rovided for holding the oil to operate the boiler 19.

Each of'the turbines 15 is provided with an exhaust port 24 through which the spent steam is exhausted from the turbines 15. This steam flows through a suitable pipe 25 from each turbine to my improved condenser structure which is mounted in a wing section directly beneath the turbine. Each of my condenser units consist of a pair of parallel spaced header tubes 26 having a plurality of condenser tubes27 extending longitudinally from one header to the other. These tubes are so bent that both headers are on one side of a flat plate 29 and the main portions of the tubes on the other side. The center portion of the tubes extend parallel to the plate 29. For convenience of installing this device, I provide an opening 28 in the under side of the airplane wing of a size slightly larger than the condenser. The plate 29 is fastened to the bottom surface of the wing over the opening 23 so as to secure the condenser in place.

"it is immaterial which one of the headers 26 is used for the steam iniet, however, I have shown the pipe 25 as being connected with plane is not important as my dethe forward one of the headers 26. A pipe 30 connects the two rear headers to a pump 31 which is arranged to pump the condensed water collected in the rear header back to the boiler19.

If desired, my improved condensers may be used as radiators for the conventional water cooled airplaneengines, and will also in this case provide the additional wing lift and other advantages the same as when used as steam condensers.

Among the many advantages arising through the use of my improved device it may be well to mention that I have provided an airplane having a powerful, reliable and economical source of power and one which operates in a noiseless manner.

A furtheradvantage results from. the use of this structure in that my improved condenser gives an increased pressure differential between the upper and lower surfaces of the airplane wing so that a greater lift coefficient is obtained by the wing. The additional lift thus obtained more than offsets the additional head resistance of the condensers.

Still further, each of my condensers being formed as a unit with a portion of the wing covering provides for easy assembling of both the turbines and the condensers.

Some changes may be made in the arrangement, construction, and combination of the various parts of my improved device without departing from the spirit of my invention,

and it is my intention-to cover by my claim,

such changes as may reasonably be included within the scope thereof.

I claim as my invention:

In a device of' the character'described, an airplane wing having an opening in the covering forming the under surface thereof, a flat plate adapted to form a closure for said opening and lie flush therewith, said plate having a pair of transversely extending ti1bular header members secured to the inner face thereof in position adjacent to the forward and rear edges of the opening, respectively, a plurality of longitudinal extending tubes disposed on the outer surface of said plate having their end portions bent upwardly through suitable openings in said plate, the ends of said tubes terminating in the respective header members whereby the headers are disposed on one side of said plate and the main portion of the tubes on the other side of the plate, and means for detachably securing said plate and headers and tubes as a unit over said opening. y HAROLD. A. HICKS. 

